Chapter 352

Mia Pandemic – Monica Realizes the Terrible Truth

“Let’s get back to what we were talking about,” said Monica. “Citrina Yellowmoon, her attendant Barbara, and the man who controls wolves planned together to kill Princess Mia. We heard that they tried to run away toward Sunkland, but they ran into a patrolling Sunkland cavalry.”

“Ah. So they tried to cross the border into my country. But what is this about patrolling Sunkland cavalry?”

Sion asked, raising an eyebrow. Monica smiled and said, “Ludwig told us ahead of time that the wolf assassin was involved.”

Ludwig? Mia thought back to a message she had gotten. Oh, now that she says it, I do remember that Ludwig said someone had tried to kill him back in Tearmoon. Cheêck out latest novels on novel/bin(.)com

Ludwig’s neat handwriting came back to her mind. The letter did talk about a killer who used wolves. Which was old news by now, but all through the fall, Mia had been thinking about how she was going to be killed on the night of the Holy Eve Festival. She didn’t have much extra brainpower to think about all the letter’s details.

Oops, that was a mistake. If I had known the enemy would bring wolves, I would have brought a meaty bone with me. “Keep your eyes on the bone, dogs. Now, go get it!”

It was a pleasant vision, so she stayed with it a little longer, only stopping when the conversation caught her attention again.

“Also, the day before the festival, Ludwig sent us an urgent message telling us that the killer with wolves would travel through Belluga and get close to the border with Sunkland.”

“Oh? I wasn’t aware of that,” Mia said. “I did ask Ludwig to look into what the House of Yellowmoon had to do with the Chaos Serpents. If he found something while doing that, I wouldn’t have much say in how he handled it.”

“I see. The information might have been so important that it needed to be sent right away. We got a letter from a messenger pigeon that was very short and to the point. It told how the wolf-man could get away and where guards should be put.”

The Tearmoon Empire and the Holy Principality of Belluga were not too far away from each other. Even so, regular mail, which Mia often sent by horse, took days to get to its destination. On the other hand, messenger pigeons could do the same thing in much less time.

Monica was basically giving Mia an excuse for why she knew something that Mia didn’t. In reality, though, Mia had given Ludwig free reign over his investigation and wasn’t the least bit bothered by it. Ludwig was the best vassal for someone like her who believed that she could answer all of his reports with “Yes!” She would never dare criticize the way he handled things.

I have to say, though, that Ludwig is so reliable. As usual, if I leave it up to him, everything works out fine.

Mia smiled at that thought.

Princess Mia is quite a character. I’d always known it, but...

When she worked in Remno for the White Crow, Graham, she saw how the Great Wisdom of the Empire took apart the White Crows’ plan piece by piece; all the while putting it back together in a way that worked better for her. It was like watching a sleight-of-hand trick on the scale of a whole kingdom.

She couldn’t believe how everything just fit together in the end. For example, Ludwig’s instructions would not have worked if the assassination attempt hadn’t happened. Without a successful encirclement, it would have been easy for the assassins from Tearmoon to get away. But that wasn’t what happened.

The assassination attempt happened, and the blockade had worked. In the end, Mia got exactly what she had hoped for. Was this an example of careful planning?

Monica didn’t think it was anything else. Of course, a part of her mind begged for reason.

She didn’t think it was possible for someone to have control over so many different factors. That kind of calculation just couldn’t be done. At the same time, she couldn’t deny that the facts in front of her showed otherwise.

Mia had been acting nervously lately. That was a pretty clear sign that she knew about the plot against her.

Then, the way she showed Citrina how the smoke-making bath herbs worked in the public baths showed that she had already figured out that her fellow countrywoman was involved. Still, she hadn’t tried to stop their plan right then, probably out of concern for Citrina. It was her way of giving her a chance to change her mind and win back her loyalty.

And now, no matter how unlikely it all seemed, the truth was that Mia had stopped Citrina from being taken far away and instead put her in a place that was easy to reach. After that, it should be said that Citrina’s actions showed that she wanted to make amends.

“Everything Miss Mia did, she did to save Rina. I’m positive!”

Bel’s sure statement played over and over inside Monica’s head. She found it hard to argue with the girl.

It would take a little too much willful ignorance to think that all of this was just a coincidence.

She slowly turned her gaze towards Mia with a look of respect.

“...Princess Mia, how many steps ahead do you think?”

Mia didn’t answer, and all she did was smile.

I should ask Rafina what she thinks about it later... Maybe she’ll be able to judge the princess’s actions with more objectivity.

Monica did talk about it with Rafina afterward, but it only made bolstered her respect for Mia even more. In other words, it was business as usual.